Juvenile Record Use in Adult Court Proceedings: A Survey of Prosecutors.

Petersilia, Joan

Although juvenile court records are often good predictors of the criminal tendencies of young adults, only sporadic information sharing between police, adult and juvenile courts occurs. A national survey of prosecutors showed that information sharing depends largely on local policy. Nearly half the prosecutors reported receiving little or no juvenile record information. Key decisions concerning young adult felons appeared to be made without knowledge of their juvenile histories. Prosecutors judged probation records to be the most accurate, although police records were used most often. The presence of computerized information systems did not increase information sharing. The findings are unclear as to whether the middle ground most prosecutors claim to be in is due to self-conscious policy or accident. (Author/JAC)